'The Big Flame' is a 1969 episode of The Wednesday Play written by socialist playwright Jim Allen and directed by left-wing director Ken Loach, who have had several fruitful collaborations throughout their careers. It was actually Loach's final episode for The Wednesday Play (which ended the following year), but not his last work for the BBC, and clearly had quite an impact at the time, appalling Mary Whitehouse (who thought it Communist and demanded a review of the BBC charter) and later lending its name to revolutionary socialist feminist organisation Big Flame. It is, put simply, exactly what anyone familiar with Loach, Allen or both would expect from them in a play about unofficial strikes and work-ins.
Indeed, the plot, which concerns a group of striking dockers deciding to take over the docks and run them themselves, taps into the then-topical issue of unofficial strikes, which had just been banned by the government. The industrial relations theme isn't new and is still relevant, and Allen and Loach natural side firmly with the workers. At the same time, it presents a typically (for both) one-sided argument, with workers under threat from greedy managers, but then it fully intends to. And it is to the credit of both writer and director that it doesn't demonise individual managers, with Michael Forrest's Garfield portrayed as being reasonable and willing to listen. The Unions don't escape blame either (no for the first or last time in an Allen script), with criticism that they have made promises to the workers without sharing all available information with them. The decisive nature of strikes is also examined - not all workers want to go on strike, and some simply can't afford to.
The workers soon start to suspect a conspiracy against them by the Government, as ship-owners order their captains not to allow the cargoes to be unload, power to the dock equipment gets cut off, and the army gets deployed in response to the take-over. And indeed, it isn't long before the police and army are ordered to move in because the Government wants an end to the work-in. In keeping with much of Allen's work, anyone who is in anyway presented as the enemy of the working man is written in a very one-dimensional way; notably, the judge presiding over Regan and Fowler's trial makes it clear that he is putting the practical exercise of Marxism on trial and using the defendants as scapegoats.
It is understandably difficult to divorce Loach's politics from his technical skills as a filmmaker, which has historically prejudiced anyone who doesn't share the former against appreciating the latter. But Loach's reputation as one of England's greatest directors has been well-earned over his lengthy (and at the time of writing, continuing) career. 'The Big Flame' is shot on location, with much use of handheld cameras and a cast fleshed out by non-professional actors who actually worked on the docks and thus captures the feeling of dockers' life very realistically. The opening scene is very long and dialogue-heavy, but Loach's use of close-ups and rapid cuts draws the viewer into the debate. The play is of the docu-drama type that the BBC would later move away from in response to criticism from certain quarters, and at times voiceovers in the form of in-character interviews play over scenes, with various workers talking about what striking means to them. Loach also handles the action-packed scenes of the army and police moving in - a sequence that involves dozens of cast members and extras - very convincingly. Once again, the use of hand-held cameras and close-ups pulls the audience into the thick of it. The final scene, of a news reporter being heard announcing the sentence and a sympathy strike held the next day, makes it feel as though the story is closely based on real-life events, adding to the realism - as Loach fully intended.
The cast is excellent and fans of British archive television will recognise Norman Rossington as Danny Fowler and Godfrey Quigley as Jack Regan, amongst others. Quigley gives a standout performance as Jack Regan, especially during his impassioned speech at the trial. Fowler wants to defend workers' jobs, whilst self-proclaimed Marxist Regan wants something more revolutionary and changes the course of the strike to turn it into a "work-in". Overall, 'The Big Flame' - like all of Loach's work - will not be to everybody's taste. But anyone with an interest in British television history should watch it, as a fascinating and well-made historical artefact if nothing else.
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